Vatican rift deepens as breakaway Catholic group defies Pope, ordains bishops

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An ultra-traditionalist breakaway Catholic group consecrated four new bishops on Wednesday in defiance of Pope Leo XIV, who had pleaded with them to turn back from what he called a “schismatic act”.

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At a ceremony in Econe in southwest Switzerland, attended by thousands of worshippers from around the world and witnessed by AFP, the last two remaining bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X consecrated four new ones.

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Two were French — Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier — one American, Michael Goldade, and one Swiss, Pascal Schreiber.

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The society’s Superior General Davide Pagliarani called it a “historic” day during his homily.

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“Are we breaking with the Church in order to keep the faith? That is a false dilemma. We belong to the Church first through faith, through the integral profession of the Church’s faith,” he said.

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By going ahead without the pontiff’s approval, all six bishops are de facto excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.

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But at the start of the ceremony, the society’s secretary general Foucault Leroux said they considered “that all penalties and censures… are null and void”.

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• Mass in Latin –

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The Society of Saint Pius X, which has around 600,000 followers, comprises fundamentalist Catholics who strongly oppose the liberal reforms imposed by the Vatican II Council in the 1960s.

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Founded in 1970 by the controversial French bishop Marcel Lefebvre, the group triggered a rift with the Vatican by consecrating four bishops in 1988.

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Wednesday’s new consecrations took place in the very same spot, in the meadows near the society’s seminary in Econe, a village in the Rhone valley, with the Alps towering above.

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The accompanying mass in Latin lasted five and a half hours.

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The four priests lay face down on the ground while the Litany of the Saints was sung, before receiving the laying on of hands from the bishop — the key moment, followed by the anointing.

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Swiss worshipper Marie Borgeat, 30, cried during the ceremony and said it was “a magnificent moment” when the bishops stepped forward to bless the faithful afterwards.

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The service took place on a large covered stage before several hundred priests and nuns, while the crowds outside watched on giant screens.

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• ‘Sin of extreme gravity’ –

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For the Holy See, consecrating bishops without the approval of the pope is a direct act of insubordination, leading to the automatic excommunication of the bishops involved.

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“I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!” Pope Leo wrote in a letter to the society on Monday, calling it a “schismatic act”.

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“To tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity,” the pontiff said.

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The Vatican’s number two Pietro Parolin said the Church felt “deep sorrow” over the ordinations.

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“An act of this kind deeply wounds the unity of the Church,” he told reporters Wednesday.

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He hoped “paths can be found that will make it possible to resolve this problem”.

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The society says it is present in more than 75 countries across six continents, with more than 750 priests.

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“There is absolutely nothing schismatic or anti-Church in our actions,” Father Michel Rion, a theology professor at the Econe seminary — one of the society’s five worldwide — told AFP.

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“We hope that one day the pope will see that. For us, being schismatic is the worst thing that could happen. We would rather die than be schismatic.”

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Adhering to a strict interpretation of Roman Catholic tradition, the society holds masses in Latin celebrated by priests with their backs turned to the congregation.

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The society saw consecrating new bishops as a necessity, arguing it had only two bishops left.

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“We were very worried because our bishops were getting old and so it’s a question of our survival,” Paul Robinson, a US priest, told reporters.

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“Now we have six bishops and the two old bishops can now take a rest.”

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AFP

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